Republican spending crunch reshuffles money in Sam Brown election

Millions in GOP advertising funds supporting Republican Sam Brown’s Nevada Senate battle will reportedly be reshuffled as hybrid ads ahead of Election Day. 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the upper chamber’s GOP campaign arm, is canceling its independent expenditure buys for Brown as it shifts its gaze toward hybrid ads, according to a new Politico report. 

Whereas independent expenditure buys hone in on one particular candidate and their sole competitor, hybrid ads focus on multiple fronts. For example, a hybrid NRSC-funded ad released in September backed Republican Wisconsin senate candidate Eric Hovde. However, instead of solely attacking his opponent, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), it also blasted Democrats at the national level through digs at Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Back in Nevada, Brown is a decorated combat veteran who Republicans believe has a good shot at unseating Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV). Though Rosen retains a lead in the senate race, it has dropped five percentage points since August. Brown’s campaign was the last competitive race to access independent expenditure buys from the NRSC. But now, over $7 million of NRSC independent expenditure funds designated for Nevada will be allocated to hybrid ads, according to the outlet.  

The news comes as the NRSC has faced a funding deficit with its rival counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Hybrid ads are far cheaper to run than independent expenditures and offer the GOP a chance to help bridge the monetary disparity by using funds more efficiently and allocating resources to additional races. 

Top Republican leaders, including Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), NRSC chairman, have openly admitted a shortage of funds could cost the GOP critical victories this November. 

“If there’s one thing that Kamala Harris can do well, maybe the only thing, it’s raise money. So we’ve got a gap that we need to close,” Daines warned in September. 

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The same month, NRSC Executive Director Jason Thielman urged his Republican colleagues to note, “The only thing preventing us from having a great night in November is the massive financial disparity our party currently faces.” 

“We are on a trajectory to win the majority, but unless something changes drastically in the next six weeks, we will lose winnable seats,” he said.